BOCA RATON, Fla. — Dave Pounder, the retired adult film producer, director and performer, lost an appeal today at the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
Pounder's case began several years ago after he filed a federal lawsuit against the Palm Beach School District, which rejected his banners at a number of schools touting his math tutoring company.
After a number of years advertising his services for kids sixth grade and up, the Palm Beach School District cut ties with Pounder after they found about his porn past.
Pounder, whose real name is Dave Mech, was president of Dave Pounder Productions, which produced reality-based adult movies from 2003-2010. He also served as an executive with Daydream Entertainment Group, an online adult company, from 2003-2008.
But Pounder is best known as a director. He went on to direct more than 100 titles for companies including PIMPROLL, Hundies, Top Bucks, Python, PayServe, BlazingBucks, Kink.com, Mayors Money, RageCash, TripleXCash and BangBros.com.
He no longer is involved in porn; most recently he attempted to enter the political arena last year by running for school board, but he was defeated by the incumbent.
Schools exercise substantial control over the messages that they convey, the 11th Circuit ruled today, upholding a lower court's decision against Pounder.
The 11th Circuit said in the ruling that the contents of the signs are considered "government speech," and not free speech, which is "regulated primarily through the political process, not the U.S. Constitution.”
“We conclude that the banners for The Happy/Fun Math Tutor are government speech,” the court said. “Despite the lack of historical evidence in the record, the banners exhibit strong indicia of government endorsement and control.
"Accordingly, [Pounder’s] claim under the First Amendment fails. His redress lies with the political process, not the courts.”
